IFM Investors Pty Ltd Increases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.1% during the second quarter, now holding a total of 1,003,162 shares valued at approximately $177.95 million.
• Alphabet's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.31, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $96.43 billion, a 13.8% year-over-year increase.
• In a recent analyst report, Alphabet received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $227.56 and a mix of ratings from various analysts including four strong buy and eighteen buy ratings.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,003,162 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 20,512 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.7% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $177,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. NCM Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. raised its position in Alphabet by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 9,956 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% during the first quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. SK Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 4.4% during the second quarter. SK Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Objectivity Squared LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the first quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC now owns 16,342 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,605,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,656,704. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,236,785. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GOOG. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (up from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $230.35.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $252.77. The stock had a trading volume of 4,719,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,911,719. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $211.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $256.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 8.95%.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.